CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms. There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year.

For an American, the chance of being struck by lightning is approximately 1 in 576,000 and the chance of actually being killed by lightning is approximately 1 in 2,320,000.

The chance of winning tonight's Mega Lotto, valued at more than $170,000,000.00 is 1 in 72 million. Now I am not a mathematician, but it seems to me your chances are 140 times greater being struck by lightning than winning tonight's jackpot!

How lightning initially forms is still a matter of debate. Scientists have studied root causes ranging from atmospheric perturbations (wind, humidity, friction, and atmospheric pressure) to the impact of solar wind and accumulation of charged solar particles. Ice inside a cloud is thought to be a key element in lightning development, and may cause a forcible separation of positive and negative charges within the cloud, thus assisting in the formation of lightning.

Today's Cool Image was taken by CMSP photographer Kent Wood.

It is Friday. Have a nice weekend. And don't forget to plop down a dollar at your local Lotto store and ah, watch out for lightning.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Sexercise yourself into shape. Forget about jogging round the block. According to research, "sexercise" can lower the risk of heart attacks and helps people live longer.

Endorphins released during orgasm stimulate immune system cells, which also helps target illnesses like cancer, as well as wrinkles, it states. Sexual health experts said such claims could not be scientifically proven.

Sex with a little energy and imagination provides a workout worthy of an athlete, the article says. "Forget about jogging round the block or struggling with sit-ups. Sex uses every muscle group, gets the heart and lungs working hard, and burns about 300 calories an hour." Increased production of endorphins "will make your hair shine and your skin smooth."

The research goes on to say that orgasms release "painkillers" into the bloodstream, which helping keep mild illnesses like colds and aches and pains at bay. The production of extra estrogen and testosterone hormones "will keep your bones and muscles healthy, leaving you feeling fabulous inside and out".

Hmmm. Do you think a bunch of guys researched this? Was a keg involved?

Custom Medical Stock Photo (CMSP) has numerous images on the subject heading of Human Sexuality.

This image is titled Happy Woman in bed in the Morning.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

These two men could be making deals that effect the futures of many people. Mortgage bankers? Maybe. Hospital administrators? Could be. Medical personnel? Sure.

Pictured are hospital administrators that serve the institution who reports to the hospital's board of directors.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has pictures of all the jobs people may have working for a hospital or medical center.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

The symptoms of the common cold syndrome are caused by over two hundred different viruses. Rhinoviruses (nose viruses) account for approximately 30-50% of adult colds. Other viruses such as coronavirus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) adenovirus parainfluenza virus and influenza virus also cause the common cold syndrome.

Pictured is the INFLUENZA A VIRUS. This image is a scanning electron micrograph photographed at a magnification of x600,000.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has pictures of all the common viruses that you can use in your editorial or commercial projects. Contact CMSP for more info or visit the CMSP website at www.cmsp.com

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt to be burdened with. The high interest rates and easy access to more debt than is affordable have resulted in millions of people worldwide struggling with serious financial problems.

In this situation it is important to cease using credit cards and to pay more than the minimum balance. It is helpful to opt out of further offers from credit companies and to pay off the cards with the highest interest rates first.

Today's cool image shows a woman throwing her credit cards up in the air as if she is getting rid of her credit problems.

Debt images in CMSP's library? People in debt and fighting to stay financially above water can relate to psychology.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Today's Cool Image used low voltage radiology to capture an x-ray of a light bulb, created by artist/photographer Jim Wehtje.

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) also known as a compact fluorescent light or energy saving light (or less commonly as a compact fluorescent tube CFT) is a type of fluorescent lamp. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit into existing light fixtures formerly used for common incandescent lamps.

CFLs generally use less power, have a longer rated life, but a higher purchase price. In the United States, a CFL can save over $30 in electricity costs over the lamp's life time compared to an incandescent lamp. CFLs can save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases.

Click here to see other examples of light bulb x-rays.

On the negative side,like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury, which complicates their disposal.

Custom Medical Stock Photo's library has many cool science images for use in textbooks, ad campaigns, editorial use and blogs.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Today's Cool Image is a funny image created by CMSP photographer Linda Steinmark.

A flasher, a pervert... what constitutes indecent exposure depends on the standards of decency of the community where the exposure takes place. These standards can vary from the very strict standards of modesty imposed on women by the Taliban regime of Afghanistan, which imposed the wearing of the Burqa, to societies where full nakedness is the norm (but even these tend to consider exposure of an erect penis or opened female genitalia as a severe breach of decency). In Pakistan, exposure of any part of an adult woman's body is considered indecent except for ‎arms up to elbows, feet and head including neck; however, wearing half sleeves and ‎keeping the head uncovered are considered liberal and modern rather than the norm.

Even within a community, what will be seen as indecent will also depend on the context in which the exposure takes place. For example, it would be a reasonable expectation to see a naked person on a designated nude beach. However, even on that beach it may not be expected to witness explicit sexual activity. Indecent exposure is normally understood to be exposure of an adult's genitalia, but it may also involve masturbation, sexual intercourse, and the like in a public place.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has a huge collection of images in their PSYCHOLOGY file.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

From BBC News - Feb 18, 2009. Chinese officials have said that HIV/Aids was the leading cause of death last year, compared with other infectious diseases. A report by the country's state media said HIV/Aids had led to the deaths of almost 7,000 people in the first nine months of 2008.

The number of deaths caused by tuberculosis and rabies fell back into second and third place.

The numbers are increasing dramatically - China's Ministry of Health say that until three years ago, fewer than 8,000 people altogether had died from HIV/Aids. By last year, the total had risen to five times that many.Data on HIV in China are still unreliable. Official reporting of cases does seem to have improved.

The central authorities seem more willing to recognize HIV as a public health crisis and address it with education campaigns. But there are still concerns that officials at local and provincial level are under-reporting, either by mistake or because they think it's not in their interest to show rises.This latest news comes as the spread of HIV in China has entered a dangerous new phase.Initially it was concentrated in high-risk populations, injecting drug users in particular. Infection from contaminated blood transfusions was also common.

But now the main cause of transmission is thought to be unsafe sex. China is still a deeply conservative society - but it is also going through a period of rapid social change. Greater freedom of movement means millions of migrant workers have left small communities to enjoy the anonymity of cities.Male workers, away from their families, have more sexual opportunity. Prostitution has increased. Premarital sex is also becoming more acceptable.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization warned of a steep rise in HIV amongst Asian men who have sex with men, unless prevention programs targeting them were greatly improved.

Custom Medical Stock Photo (CMSP) has over 300 images of HIV and AIDS related images.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

FLOUR MILL FACTORY ON ROUTE 66, located in SAN BERNARDINO, California.

Virtually all of the white flour used in North America is produced by roller mills. Before wheat can be milled into flour it must first be cleaned and conditioned to remove foreign material and poor quality or infested kernels. Conditioning is the adjustment of the moisture level of the grain to facilitate maximum separation of bran from endosperm.

Essentially there are only two things that happen in a mill. Grinding and separating.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has electron micrographs of wheat and oat flour, showing close-up structures. A cool in in a future Cool image blog.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Chromosomes are very long DNA molecules and associated proteins that carry portions of the hereditary information of an organism.

The human haploid genome contains 3,000,000,000 DNA nucleotide pairs divided among twenty two (22) pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes.

The chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in cells. A chromosome is a single piece of DNA that contains many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has over 100 DNA related images available for license for use in textbooks, advertisements, TV shows and movies, blogs and websites.

Camm CMSP at 800-373-26777 or email requests@cmsp.com for more info.

It's Monday, have a great week.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Today's Cool Image makes a lot of sense if you are a molecular biologist. Otherwise, it is just a cool image. Reminds me of an old black and white TV screen. Remember those? TV screens? Black and white?

Arrays of DNA can be spatially arranged, as in the commonly known gene chip (also called genome chip, DNA chip or gene array), or can be specific DNA sequences labeled such that they can be independently identified in solution. The traditional solid-phase array is a collection of microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid surface, such as glass, plastic or silicon biochip. The affixed DNA segments are known as probes (although some sources use different terms such as reporters). Thousands of them can be placed in known locations on a single DNA microarray.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has hundreds of DNA images. Call CMSP or email us at requests@cmsp.com for more info.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Today's cool image is a composite created by world renowned photographer Pete Solutous. The image brings together yoga and health.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings and is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite". Translations include "joining", "uniting", "union", "conjunction", and "means".

Outside India, the term yoga is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. A practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi (gender neutral) or Yogini (feminine form).

Custom Medical Stock Photo has over 100 yoga pictures on file.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

This Cool Image blog usually shows a picture that corresponds to a news item. Not today. As I was looking through the many cool images of CMSP's image library I saw this cool image.

This is a photomicrograph (photographed using a light microscope) of WOODY STEM OF A PINE TREE. The magnification is ten times, x10.

Woody stems are characterized by the presence of secondary xylem, a plant tissue commonly referred to as wood. In contrast, stems lacking significant development of secondary tissues, particularly secondary xylem, are termed herbaceous. Trees, shrubs, and certain vines are examples of woody plants. Secondary tissues develop from the two
lateral meristems: vascular cambium and cork cambium. Wood, known technically as secondary xylem, is a product of secondary growth from the vascular cambium. Secondary xylem functions to conduct water and minerals and to support the woody stem.

This image is part of the botany collection of images at CMSP.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

Illinois public health officials say flu cases are up around the Chicago area. And peak flu season is just a few weeks away.

The state collects data on flu cases sort of informally, but the Department of Public Health has found localized outbreaks of influenza-like illness. That’s pretty consistent with other Midwestern states, says Dr. Carolyn Bridges of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She says those flu clusters can easily balloon as winter wears on.

State officials say peak season in Illinois usually comes in late January or early February. Carolyn Bridges says the strains circulating now match up well with available vaccines and those vaccines are plentiful this year. But for people who are already sick, the treatment options have narrowed. This season’s flu bugs show a high resistance to the common anti-viral drug, Tamiflu.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has hundreds of flu pictures including electron micrographs of the flu bug and of people combating the flu.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Rheumatoid arthritis shown on an x-ray (radiograph) of a patient’s left hand.

The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. Even though infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi have long been suspected, none has been proven as the cause. The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is a very active area of worldwide research. Some scientists believe that the tendency to develop rheumatoid arthritis may be genetically inherited. It is suspected that certain infections or factors in the environment might trigger the immune system to attack the body's own tissues, resulting in inflammation in various organs of the body such as the lungs or eyes.

Early in the disease edema begins to be seen in cells in the synovium and multiplication of synovial lining cells occur. As the disease progresses the synovium may grow considerably larger eventually forming tissue called pannus. Pannus can be considered the most destructive element affecting joints in the patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Call or email CMSP when you need quality images of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Poor function of spermatozoa accounts for half of all human infertility. Micromanipulation methods within the framework of in vitro fertilization treatment may enhance fertilization of the egg and may allow the establishment of an ongoing pregnancy in cases of severe male infertility

This cool CMSP photo demonstrates micromanipulation of the human egg.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Cartilage is found in many areas in the body including the articular surface of the bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs. Its mechanical properties are intermediate between bone and dense connective tissue like tendon.
Unlike other connective tissues, cartilage does not contain blood vessels. The chondrocytes are fed by diffusion, helped by the pumping action generated by compression of the articular cartilage or flexion of the elastic cartilage. Thus, compared to other connective tissues, cartilage grows and repairs more slowly.

Custom Medical Stock Photo (CMSP) has hundreds of bone and cartilage photos. Search on bone or call CMSP for free research.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Today's Cool Image of the Day is a generic surgery image. The cool thing about this shot is the genericism of the picture. Genericism, is there such a word? This shot could work with any text about surgical procedures.

An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply surgery. As a general rule, a procedure is considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has thousands of surgical pictures. Email CMSP for more info: requests@cmsp.com

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day

Alzheimer's is Brain Diabetes' - Some Scientists Claim.

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease. The most common form of dementia may be closely related to another common disease of old-age - type II diabetes, say scientists.

Treating Alzheimer's with the hormone insulin, or with drugs to boost its effect, may help patients, they claim. The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports insulin could protect against damage to brain cells key to memory.
The relationship between insulin and brain disease has been under scrutiny since doctors found evidence that the hormone was active there.

The latest study, joint research between Northwestern University and the University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, looked at the effects of insulin on proteins called ADDLs, which build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and cause damage.

They took neurons - brain cells - from the hippocampus, a part of the brain with a pivotal role in memory formation. These were treated with insulin and a drug called rosiglitazone, given to type II diabetics to increase the effect of the hormone on cells. After this, the cells were far less susceptible to damage when exposed to ADDLs, suggesting that insulin was capable of blocking their effects.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has hundreds of images of Alzheimer's.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

Mosquitoes are insects in the family Culicidae.

The females of most mosquito species suck blood (hematophagy) from other animals, which has made them the most deadly disease vector known, killing millions of people over thousands of years and continuing to kill millions per year by the spread of infectious diseases. Bad mosquito.

Custom Medical Stock Photo (CMSP) has over 150 search results for MOSQUITO. Images include the insects biting human skin, illustrations, West Nile virus images, research and more.

CMSP's Cool Image of the Day Blog

This is a cool image of a giraffe fetus. The fetus is approximately 5 months old.

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant.
The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, but is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting only of the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi. Its range extends from Chad to South Africa.

Giraffes can inhabit savannas, grasslands, or open woodlands. They prefer areas enriched with acacia growth. They drink large quantities of water and, as a result, they can spend long periods of time in dry, arid areas. When searching for more food they will venture into areas with denser foliage.

Custom Medical Stock Photo has a collection of pictures of mammal fetuses. Contact CMSP office for more info.